Explanation
BACKGROUND: This ordinance is for the option to purchase Light Duty Trucks for the City of Columbus. Light Duty Trucks are used in various City agencies. The contract will allow the City to purchase any light duty truck manufactured by Ford. The majority of trucks to be purchased from this contract are the Ford F-150, the Ford Super Duty, and the Ford Econoline.
The term of the proposed option contract would be from the date of execution by the City up to and including December 31, 2012. The Purchasing Office opened formal bids on January 19, 2012.
The Purchasing Office advertised and solicited competitive bids in accordance with Section 329.06 (Solicitation No. SA00004207). Fifty Nine (59) bids were solicited; Five (5) bids were received. The specifications asked the bidders to provide a dollar amount over triple net dealer invoicing.
The Purchasing Office respectfully asks for a waiver of the competitive bidding requirements of Section 329 because all bidders took exceptions to various clauses of the bid specifications. All bidders made various changes to the warranty provisions of the bid. Some vendors, including the low bidder, Byers Ford, took exception to picking up and delivering the vehicles to the repair location for warranty work. The Purchasing Office in conjunction with the Fleet Management Division believes it is in the best interests of the City to accept these exceptions. If the award were made to the second-lowest bidder, it would result in an additional cost of $720 per truck. This would lead to additional costs of up to $72,000 for the year.
The Purchasing Office is recommending award of the contract through negotiation to the lowest, responsible and best bidder:
Byers Ford
Total Estimated Annual Expenditure: $1,000,000
This company is not debarred according to the Federal Excluded Parties Listing or the State Auditor's Findings For Recovery Database.
This ordinance is being submitted as an emergency because,...
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